Ontario Superior Court Refuses To Certify Proposed Misclassification Overtime Class Action

Justice George Strathy of the Ontario Superior Court has refused to certify a proposed class action commenced against the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and CIBC World Markets on behalf of a class of employees alleging that their jobs were misclassified in a way that wrongfully defeated their entitlement to be paid overtime.

The decision, Brown v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, follows two other relatively recent overtime cases in the financial services sector – Fulawka v. Bank of Nova Scotia and Fresco v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Certification was granted in Fulawaka but denied in Fresco. Appeals in respect of both decisions, which were off-the-clock overtime cases, are currently under reserve by the Ontario Court of Appeal. Another recent misclassification overtime case in the transportation sector, McCracken v. Canadian National Railway, is also under reserve at the Ontario Court of Appeal.